1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to a warning system for detecting the presence of an unattended child occupant left inside a vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Background
The number of infants who perish because they have been left behind in an unattended vehicle is on the rise. In 2013, 44 children died of hyperthermia after being forgotten in a car and many more close calls were documented in the U.S. alone. The deaths usually happened after an otherwise caring and doting parent stepped out of the car, inadvertently leaving the child inside. New technology is needed to address this troubling problem.
There are different systems that tackle this issue. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,378,801 describes an invention that features a plurality of sensors connected to a seatbelt in which each sensor determines if the seatbelt is engaged. The present disclosure proposes using a sensor pad as a means to detect if a child is indeed on the car seat. This would avoid the scenario in which a parent or caregiver were to forget the infant even after unbuckling them.
As opposed to prior baby seat occupant detection systems, like U.S. Pat. No. 8,058,983, the present disclosure not only includes a remote unit (a keychain) to alert caregivers that a child has been left in the car, but also takes advantage of smart phone technology by directly pairing the car seat module to the parent's phone via Bluetooth®. The key chain and phone application work independently of each other, so if one fails the other is not affected. The settings on the application are customizable, so that in addition to alerting the user it can also send emails to a specified contact list whenever the alarm is activated. The present disclosure also includes a remote alarm that can alert persons in close proximity to the vehicle of the presence of an unattended child inside the vehicle. A bracelet is also provided for older children that do not require a car seat.
The present disclosure operates using multiple power supply circuits. This provides redundancy in terms of power sources, avoiding any system failure due to the failure of one power supply source.